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Radecke JO, Fiene M, Misselhorn J, Herrmann CS, Engel AK, Wolters CH, Schneider TR. Personalized alpha-tACS targeting left posterior parietal cortex modulates visuo-spatial attention and posterior evoked EEG activity. Brain Stimul 2023; 16:1047-1061. [PMID: 37353071 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2023.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Covert visuo-spatial attention is marked by the anticipatory lateralization of neuronal alpha activity in the posterior parietal cortex. Previous applications of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at the alpha frequency, however, were inconclusive regarding the causal contribution of oscillatory activity during visuo-spatial attention. OBJECTIVE Attentional shifts of behavior and electroencephalography (EEG) after-effects were assessed in a cued visuo-spatial attention paradigm. We hypothesized that parietal alpha-tACS shifts attention relative to the ipsilateral visual hemifield. Furthermore, we assumed that modulations of behavior and neurophysiology are related to individual electric field simulations. METHODS We applied personalized tACS at alpha and gamma frequencies to elucidate the role of oscillatory neuronal activity for visuo-spatial attention. Personalized tACS montages were algorithmically optimized to target individual left and right parietal regions that were defined by an EEG localizer. RESULTS Behavioral performance in the left hemifield was specifically increased by alpha-tACS compared to gamma-tACS targeting the left parietal cortex. This hemisphere-specific effect was observed despite the symmetry of simulated electric fields. In addition, visual event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes showed a reduced lateralization over posterior sites induced by left alpha-tACS. Neuronal sources of this effect were localized in the left premotor cortex. Interestingly, accuracy modulations induced by left parietal alpha-tACS were directly related to electric field magnitudes in the left premotor cortex. CONCLUSION Overall, results corroborate the notion that alpha lateralization plays a causal role in covert visuo-spatial attention and indicate an increased susceptibility of parietal and premotor brain regions of the left dorsal attention network to subtle tACS-neuromodulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan-Ole Radecke
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Marina Fiene
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jonas Misselhorn
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christoph S Herrmann
- Experimental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany; Research Center Neurosensory Science, University of Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany; Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all", Germany
| | - Andreas K Engel
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Carsten H Wolters
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis, University of Münster, 48149, Münster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Till R Schneider
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
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Miraghaie AM, Pouretemad H, Villa AEP, Mazaheri MA, Khosrowabadi R, Lintas A. Electrophysiological Markers of Fairness and Selfishness Revealed by a Combination of Dictator and Ultimatum Games. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:765720. [PMID: 35615426 PMCID: PMC9124946 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.765720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Individual behavior during financial decision making is motivated by fairness, but an unanswered question from previous studies is whether particular patterns of brain activity correspond to different profiles of fairness. Event Related Potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 39 participants who played the role of allocators in a Dictator Game (DG) and responders in an Ultimatum Game (UG). Two very homogeneous groups were formed by fair and selfish individuals. At fronto-central cortical sites, the latency of ERP early negativity (N1) was 10 ms shorter in selfish participants than in fair participants. In fair DG players, the subsequent positive wave P2 suggested that more cognitive resources were required when they allocated the least gains to the other party. P2 latency and amplitude in the selfish group supported the hypothesis that these participants tended to maximize their profit. During UG, we observed that medial frontal negativity (MFN) occurred earlier and with greater amplitude when selfish participants rejected less favorable endowment shares. In this case, all players received zero payoffs, which showed that MFN in selfish participants was associated with a spiteful punishment. At posterior-parietal sites, we found that the greater the selfishness, the greater the amplitude of the late positive component (LPC). Our results bring new evidence to the existence of specific somatic markers associated with the activation of distinct cerebral circuits by the evaluation of fair and unfair proposals in participants characterized by different expressions of perceived fairness, thus suggesting that a particular brain dynamics could be associated with moral decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali M. Miraghaie
- Faculty of Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
- NeuroHeuristic Research Group, HEC-Lausanne, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- *Correspondence: Ali M. Miraghaie
| | - Hamidreza Pouretemad
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
- Hamidreza Pouretemad
| | - Alessandro E. P. Villa
- NeuroHeuristic Research Group, HEC-Lausanne, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Mohammad A. Mazaheri
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Reza Khosrowabadi
- Institute for Cognitive and Brain Science, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Alessandra Lintas
- NeuroHeuristic Research Group, HEC-Lausanne, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- LABEX, HEC-Lausanne, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Alessandra Lintas
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Hoffmeister JA, Smit AN, Livingstone AC, McDonald JJ. Diversion of Attention Leads to Conflict between Concurrently Attended Stimuli, Not Delayed Orienting to the Object of Interest. J Cogn Neurosci 2021; 34:348-364. [PMID: 34813660 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The control processes that guide attention to a visual-search target can result in the selection of an irrelevant object with similar features (a distractor). Once attention is captured by such a distractor, search for a subsequent target is momentarily impaired if the two stimuli appear at different locations. The textbook explanation for this impairment is based on the notion of an indivisible focus of attention that moves to the distractor, illuminates a nontarget that subsequently appears at that location, and then moves to the target once the nontarget is rejected. Here, we show that such delayed orienting to the target does not underlie the behavioral cost of distraction. Observers identified a color-defined target appearing within the second of two stimulus arrays. The first array contained irrelevant items, including one that shared the target's color. ERPs were examined to test two predictions stemming from the textbook serial-orienting hypothesis. Namely, when the target and distractor appear at different locations, (1) the target should elicit delayed selection activity relative to same-location trials, and (2) the nontarget search item appearing at the distractor location should elicit selection activity that precedes selection activity tied to the target. Here, the posterior contralateral N2 component was used to track selection of each of these search-array items and the previous distractor. The results supported neither prediction above, thereby disconfirming the serial-orienting hypothesis. Overall, the results show that the behavioral costs of distraction are caused by perceptual and postperceptual competition between concurrently attended target and nontarget stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea N Smit
- Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
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4
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Elkin-Frankston S, Rushmore RJ, Valero-Cabré A. Low frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation of right posterior parietal cortex reduces reaction time to perithreshold low spatial frequency visual stimuli. Sci Rep 2020; 10:3162. [PMID: 32081939 PMCID: PMC7035391 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59662-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Research in humans and animal models suggests that visual responses in early visual cortical areas may be modulated by top-down influences from distant cortical areas, particularly in the frontal and parietal regions. The right posterior parietal cortex is part of a broad cortical network involved in aspects of visual search and attention, but its role in modulating activity in early visual cortical areas is less well understood. This study evaluated the influence of right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) on a direct measure of visual processing in humans. Contrast sensitivity (CS) and detection response times were recorded using a visual detection paradigm to two types of centrally-presented stimuli. Participants were tested on the detection task before, after, and 1 hour after low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the right PPC or to the scalp vertex. Low-frequency rTMS to the right PPC did not significantly change measures of contrast sensitivity, but increased the speed at which participants responded to visual stimuli of low spatial frequency. Response times returned to baseline 1-hour after rTMS. These data indicate that low frequency rTMS to the right PPC speeds up aspects of early visual processing, likely due to a disinhibition of the homotopic left posterior parietal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seth Elkin-Frankston
- Laboratory of Cerebral Dynamics, Plasticity and Rehabilitation, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States.,U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, Natick, MA, United States
| | - Richard J Rushmore
- Laboratory of Cerebral Dynamics, Plasticity and Rehabilitation, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States. .,Psychiatric Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States. .,Center for Morphometric Analysis, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States.
| | - Antoni Valero-Cabré
- Laboratory of Cerebral Dynamics, Plasticity and Rehabilitation, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States. .,Cerebral Dynamics Plasticity and Rehabilitation Group, FRONTLAB Team ICM & CNRS UMR 7225, INSERM UMR 1127, Sorbone Universtité & LPNC CNRS UMR 5105-TREAT vision, Service de Neurologie, Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild, Paris, France. .,Cognitive Neuroscience and Information Technology Research Program, Open University of Catalonia (UOC), Barcelona, Spain.
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Ross V, Vossen AY, Smulders FTY, Ruiter RAC, Brijs T, Brijs K, Wets G, Jongen EMM. Measuring working memory load effects on electrophysiological markers of attention orienting during a simulated drive. ERGONOMICS 2018; 61:429-443. [PMID: 28689462 DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2017.1353708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2016] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Intersection accidents result in a significant proportion of road fatalities, and attention allocation likely plays a role. Attention allocation may depend on (limited) working memory (WM) capacity. Driving is often combined with tasks increasing WM load, consequently impairing attention orienting. This study (n = 22) investigated WM load effects on event-related potentials (ERPs) related to attention orienting. A simulated driving environment allowed continuous lane-keeping measurement. Participants were asked to orient attention covertly towards the side indicated by an arrow, and to respond only to moving cars appearing on the attended side by pressing a button. WM load was manipulated using a concurrent memory task. ERPs showed typical attentional modulation (cue: contralateral negativity, LDAP; car: N1, P1, SN and P3) under low and high load conditions. With increased WM load, lane-keeping performance improved, while dual task performance degraded (memory task: increased error rate; orienting task: increased false alarms, smaller P3). Practitioner Summary: Intersection driver-support systems aim to improve traffic safety and flow. However, in-vehicle systems induce WM load, increasing the tendency to yield. Traffic flow reduces if drivers stop at inappropriate times, reducing the effectiveness of systems. Consequently, driver-support systems could include WM load measurement during driving in the development phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veerle Ross
- a School for Mobility Sciences, Transportation Research Institute (IMOB) , Hasselt University , Diepenbeek , Belgium
| | - Alexandra Y Vossen
- b Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging , University of Glasgow , Glasgow , UK
| | - Fren T Y Smulders
- c Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience , Maastricht University , The Netherlands
| | - Robert A C Ruiter
- d Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Work and Social Psychology , Maastricht University , Maastricht , The Netherlands
| | - Tom Brijs
- a School for Mobility Sciences, Transportation Research Institute (IMOB) , Hasselt University , Diepenbeek , Belgium
| | - Kris Brijs
- a School for Mobility Sciences, Transportation Research Institute (IMOB) , Hasselt University , Diepenbeek , Belgium
| | - Geert Wets
- a School for Mobility Sciences, Transportation Research Institute (IMOB) , Hasselt University , Diepenbeek , Belgium
| | - Ellen M M Jongen
- e Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences , Open University , Heerlen , The Netherlands
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Cross-modal orienting of visual attention. Neuropsychologia 2016; 83:170-178. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2015] [Revised: 06/02/2015] [Accepted: 06/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Huang J, Wang F, Ding Y, Niu H, Tian F, Liu H, Song Y. Predicting N2pc from anticipatory HbO activity during sustained visuospatial attention: A concurrent fNIRS–ERP study. Neuroimage 2015; 113:225-34. [PMID: 25818691 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.03.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2014] [Revised: 03/09/2015] [Accepted: 03/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
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Abstract
A recent study in humans (McDonald et al., 2013) found that peripheral, task-irrelevant sounds activated contralateral visual cortex automatically as revealed by an auditory-evoked contralateral occipital positivity (ACOP) recorded from the scalp. The present study investigated the functional significance of this cross-modal activation of visual cortex, in particular whether the sound-evoked ACOP is predictive of improved perceptual processing of a subsequent visual target. A trial-by-trial analysis showed that the ACOP amplitude was markedly larger preceding correct than incorrect pattern discriminations of visual targets that were colocalized with the preceding sound. Dipole modeling of the scalp topography of the ACOP localized its neural generators to the ventrolateral extrastriate visual cortex. These results provide direct evidence that the cross-modal activation of contralateral visual cortex by a spatially nonpredictive but salient sound facilitates the discriminative processing of a subsequent visual target event at the location of the sound. Recordings of event-related potentials to the targets support the hypothesis that the ACOP is a neural consequence of the automatic orienting of visual attention to the location of the sound.
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9
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Lee JS, Choi J, Yoo JH, Kim M, Lee S, Kim JW, Jeong B. The effect of word imagery on priming effect under a preconscious condition: an fMRI study. Hum Brain Mapp 2014; 35:4795-804. [PMID: 24692197 PMCID: PMC4312897 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 02/03/2014] [Accepted: 03/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Semantic priming is affected by the degree of association and how readily a word is imagined. In the association effect, activity in the perisylvian structures including the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, the left middle temporal gyrus, and the supramarginal gyrus was correlated. However, little is known about the brain regions related to the effect of imagery word under the preconscious condition. Forty word pairs for high (HA)‐, low (LA)‐, and nonassociation (NA), nonword (NW) conditions were presented. Each 40 association word pairs (HA and LA) included 20 high (HI) and 20 low (LI) imagery prime stimuli, using a visually presented lexical decision task. A trial consisted of 30 ms prime, 30 ms mask, 500 ms probe, and 2–8 s stimulus onset asynchrony. Brain activation was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging during word discrimination. Behavioral data indicated that the shortest response time (RT) was given for HA words, followed by LA and NA, and NW showed the longest RT (P < 0.01). RT was faster in HI than LI within HA, but not LA conditions (P < 0.01). Functional neuroimaging showed that differential brain regions for high imagery (HI) and low imagery (LI) words within low prime‐target word association were observed in the left precuneus, left posterior cingulate gyrus, and right cuneal cortex. The present findings demonstrate that the effect of the degree of imagery on semantic priming occurs during the early stage of language processing, indicating an “automatic imagery priming effect.” Our paradigm may be useful to explore semantic deficit related to imagery in various psychiatric disorders. Hum Brain Mapp 35:4795–4804, 2014. © 2014 The Authors. Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jong-Sun Lee
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Korea
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10
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Shimi A, Kuo BC, Astle DE, Nobre AC, Scerif G. Age Group and Individual Differences in Attentional Orienting Dissociate Neural Mechanisms of Encoding and Maintenance in Visual STM. J Cogn Neurosci 2014; 26:864-77. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Selective attention biases the encoding and maintenance of representations in visual STM (VSTM). However, precise attentional mechanisms gating encoding and maintenance in VSTM and across development remain less well understood. We recorded EEG while adults and 10-year-olds used cues to guide attention before encoding or while maintaining items in VSTM. Known neural markers of spatial orienting to incoming percepts, that is, Early Directing Attention Negativity, Anterior Directing Attention Negativity, and Late Directing Attention Positivity, were examined in the context of orienting within VSTM. Adults elicited a set of neural markers that were broadly similar in preparation for encoding and during maintenance. In contrast, in children these processes dissociated. Furthermore, in children, individual differences in the amplitude of neural markers of prospective orienting related to individual differences in VSTM capacity, suggesting that children with high capacity are more efficient at selecting information for encoding into VSTM. Finally, retrospective, but not prospective, orienting in both age groups elicited the well-known marker of visual search (N2pc), indicating the recruitment of additional neural circuits when orienting during maintenance. Developmental and individual differences differentiate seemingly similar processes of orienting to perceptually available representations and to representations held in VSTM.
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11
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Attentional enhancement of spatial resolution: linking behavioural and neurophysiological evidence. Nat Rev Neurosci 2013; 14:188-200. [PMID: 23422910 DOI: 10.1038/nrn3443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 163] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Attention allows us to select relevant sensory information for preferential processing. Behaviourally, it improves performance in various visual tasks. One prominent effect of attention is the modulation of performance in tasks that involve the visual system's spatial resolution. Physiologically, attention modulates neuronal responses and alters the profile and position of receptive fields near the attended location. Here, we develop a hypothesis linking the behavioural and electrophysiological evidence. The proposed framework seeks to explain how these receptive field changes enhance the visual system's effective spatial resolution and how the same mechanisms may also underlie attentional effects on the representation of spatial information.
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12
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Scharmüller W, Leutgeb V, Schäfer A, Schienle A. Investigating phobic specificity with standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA). Brain Res 2012; 1477:74-82. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2012] [Revised: 07/23/2012] [Accepted: 08/06/2012] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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Marrett NE, de-Wit LH, Roser ME, Kentridge RW, Milner AD, Lambert AJ. Testing the dorsal stream attention hypothesis: Electrophysiological correlates and the effects of ventral stream damage. VISUAL COGNITION 2011. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2011.622729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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McDonald J, Green J, Störmer V, Hillyard S. Cross-Modal Spatial Cueing of Attention Influences Visual Perception. Front Neurosci 2011. [DOI: 10.1201/b11092-33] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
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15
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McDonald J, Green J, Störmer V, Hillyard S. Cross-Modal Spatial Cueing of Attention Influences Visual Perception. Front Neurosci 2011. [DOI: 10.1201/9781439812174-33] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
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16
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Cosmelli D, López V, Lachaux JP, López-Calderón J, Renault B, Martinerie J, Aboitiz F. Shifting visual attention away from fixation is specifically associated with alpha band activity over ipsilateral parietal regions. Psychophysiology 2011; 48:312-22. [PMID: 20663090 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01066.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We studied brain activity during the displacement of attention in a modified visuo-spatial orienting paradigm. Using a behaviorally relevant no-shift condition as a control, we asked whether ipsi- or contralateral parietal alpha band activity is specifically related to covert shifts of attention. Cue-related event-related potentials revealed an attention directing anterior negativity (ADAN) contralateral to the shift of attention and P3 and contingent negative variation waveforms that were enhanced in both shift conditions as compared to the no-shift task. When attention was shifted away from fixation, alpha band activity over parietal regions ipsilateral to the attended hemifield was enhanced relative to the control condition, albeit with different dynamics in the upper and lower alpha subbands. Contralateral-to-attended parietal alpha band activity was indistinguishable from the no-shift task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Cosmelli
- Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia, Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
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Scharmüller W, Leutgeb V, Schäfer A, Köchel A, Schienle A. Source localization of late electrocortical positivity during symptom provocation in spider phobia: an sLORETA study. Brain Res 2011; 1397:10-8. [PMID: 21600565 PMCID: PMC3119789 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2011.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2011] [Revised: 03/30/2011] [Accepted: 04/12/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This symptom provocation study on spider phobia investigated sources of late event-related potentials (ERPs) using sLORETA (standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography). Twenty-five phobic female patients and 20 non-phobic controls were confronted with phobia-relevant, generally fear-inducing, disgust-inducing and affectively neutral pictures while an electroencephalogram was recorded. Mean amplitudes of ERPs were extracted in the time windows 340-500 ms (P300) and 550-770 ms (late positive potential, LPP). Phobics showed enhanced P300 and LPP amplitudes in response to spider pictures relative to controls. Sources were mainly located in areas engaged in visuo-attentional processing (occipital and parietal regions, ventral visual pathway). Moreover, there were sources in areas which are crucial for emotional processing and the representations of aversive bodily states (cingulate cortex, insula). Further sources were located in premotor areas reflecting the priming of flight behaviour. Our findings are in good accordance with existing brain imaging studies and underline that source localization is a useful alternative for identifying phobia-relevant cortical regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wilfried Scharmüller
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria.
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18
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Grent-'t-Jong T, Boehler CN, Kenemans JL, Woldorff MG. Differential functional roles of slow-wave and oscillatory-α activity in visual sensory cortex during anticipatory visual-spatial attention. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011; 21:2204-16. [PMID: 21372123 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhq279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Markers of preparatory visual-spatial attention in sensory cortex have been described both as lateralized, slow-wave event-related potential (ERP) components and as lateralized changes in oscillatory-electroencephalography alpha power, but the roles of these markers and their functional relationship are still unclear. Here, 3 versions of a visual-spatial cueing paradigm, differing in perceptual task difficulty and/or response instructions, were used to investigate the functional relationships between posterior oscillatory-alpha changes and our previously reported posterior, slow-wave biasing-related negativity (swBRN) ERP activity. The results indicate that the swBRN reflects spatially specific, pretarget preparatory activity sensitive to the expected perceptual difficulty of the target detection task, correlating in both location and strength with the early sensory-processing N1 ERP to the target, consistent with reflecting a preparatory baseline-shift mechanism. In contrast, contralateral event-related decreases in alpha-band power were relatively insensitive to perceptual difficulty and differed topographically from both the swBRN and target N1. Moreover, when response instructions emphasized making immediate responses to targets, compared with prescribing delayed responses, contralateral alpha-event-related desynchronization activity was particularly strong and correlated with the longer latency target-P3b activity. Thus, in contrast to the apparent perceptual-biasing role of swBRN activity, contralateral posterior alpha activity may represent an attentionally maintained task set linking stimulus-specific information and task-specific response requirements.
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Murray AM, Nobre AC, Stokes MG. Markers of preparatory attention predict visual short-term memory performance. Neuropsychologia 2011; 49:1458-65. [PMID: 21335015 PMCID: PMC3318119 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2010] [Accepted: 02/09/2011] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Visual short-term memory (VSTM) is limited in capacity. Therefore, it is important to encode only visual information that is most likely to be relevant to behaviour. Here we asked which aspects of selective biasing of VSTM encoding predict subsequent memory-based performance. We measured EEG during a selective VSTM encoding task, in which we varied parametrically the memory load and the precision of recall required to compare a remembered item to a subsequent probe item. On half the trials, a spatial cue indicated that participants only needed to encode items from one hemifield. We observed a typical sequence of markers of anticipatory spatial attention: early attention directing negativity (EDAN), anterior attention directing negativity (ADAN), late directing attention positivity (LDAP); as well as of VSTM maintenance: contralateral delay activity (CDA). We found that individual differences in preparatory brain activity (EDAN/ADAN) predicted cue-related changes in recall accuracy, indexed by memory-probe discrimination sensitivity (d′). Importantly, our parametric manipulation of memory-probe similarity also allowed us to model the behavioural data for each participant, providing estimates for the quality of the memory representation and the probability that an item could be retrieved. We found that selective encoding primarily increased the probability of accurate memory recall; that ERP markers of preparatory attention predicted the cue-related changes in recall probability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M Murray
- Brain and Cognition Laboratory, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road OX1 3UD, United Kingdom
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Green JJ, McDonald JJ. The role of temporal predictability in the anticipatory biasing of sensory cortex during visuospatial shifts of attention. Psychophysiology 2011; 47:1057-65. [PMID: 20477979 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01025.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The presentation of an attention-directing cue elicits a lateralized ERP deflection called the late directing attention positivity (LDAP) and lateralized changes in alpha-band elelctroencephalogram oscillations. Both of these electrophysiological responses have been independently linked to biasing of visual cortex in anticipation of an impending target. However, the LDAP is not always observed, and the link between the ERP and alpha-band modulations remains unclear. Here, we examined the effect of advance knowledge of the time of target onset on the ERP and alpha-band responses to cues. The LDAP was present only when the attention-directing cues accurately indicated the time of target appearance, whereas two sequential attention-related alpha-band modulations were observed regardless of the temporal information provided by the cues. Thus, alpha-band activity may be a more reliable index of pretarget biasing of visual cortical activity than lateralized ERP effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica J Green
- Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
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21
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Praamstra P, Kourtis D. An early parietal ERP component of the frontoparietal system: EDAN≠N2pc. Brain Res 2010; 1317:203-10. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.12.090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2009] [Revised: 11/30/2009] [Accepted: 12/29/2009] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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22
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Andersson P, Ramsey NF, Pluim JPW, Viergever MA. BCI control using 4 direction spatial visual attention and real-time fMRI at 7T. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2010; 2010:4221-4225. [PMID: 21096898 DOI: 10.1109/iembs.2010.5627372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
The goal of Brain-Computer-Interface (BCI) technologies is to "outsource" the muscular control to a computer and create new communication channels, e.g. to people with severe paralysis, by measuring cortical activation changes and linking these changes to commands. Using real-time fMRI at 7T we show that visuospatial attention can be used to reliably regulate cortical activity and that it is possible to separate the cortical responses to multiple attention target regions in real time. The activated regions were first located on the fly using an incremental statistical analysis and the subjects were then given feedback based on the activity in these regions. Visuospatial attention is an attractive addition to the existing BCI control strategies, and the fact that it leaves the motor system still available makes it suitable also for applications aimed for healthy people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrik Andersson
- Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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23
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Woodman GF, Arita JT, Luck SJ. A cuing study of the N2pc component: an index of attentional deployment to objects rather than spatial locations. Brain Res 2009; 1297:101-11. [PMID: 19682440 PMCID: PMC2758329 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2009] [Revised: 08/01/2009] [Accepted: 08/04/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Symbolic visual cues indicating the location of an upcoming target are believed to invoke endogenous shifts of attention to cued locations. In the present study, we investigated how visual attention is shifted during such cuing paradigms by recording event-related potentials (ERPs). We focused on a component known to index lateralized shifts of perceptual attention during visual search tasks, known as the N2pc component. The ERP data show that attention was shifted to a cued location in anticipation of a target shape when the location is marked by a placeholder object (Experiments 1 and 2). However, when the possible locations were not marked by placeholder objects, we found no evidence for an anticipatory shift of attention to the cued location (Experiment 3). These findings indicate that the perceptual attention mechanism indexed by the N2pc is deployed to objects and not simply locations in space devoid of object structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey F Woodman
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
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24
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From local inhibition to long-range integration: A functional dissociation of alpha-band synchronization across cortical scales in visuospatial attention. Brain Res 2009; 1303:97-110. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.09.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2009] [Revised: 09/09/2009] [Accepted: 09/17/2009] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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25
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Störmer VS, Green JJ, McDonald JJ. Tracking the voluntary control of auditory spatial attention with event-related brain potentials. Psychophysiology 2009; 46:357-66. [PMID: 19170950 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2008.00778.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
A lateralized event-related potential (ERP) component elicited by attention-directing cues (ADAN) has been linked to frontal-lobe control but is often absent when spatial attention is deployed in the auditory modality. Here, we tested the hypothesis that ERP activity associated with frontal-lobe control of auditory spatial attention is distributed bilaterally by comparing ERPs elicited by attention-directing cues and neutral cues in a unimodal auditory task. This revealed an initial ERP positivity over the anterior scalp and a later ERP negativity over the parietal scalp. Distributed source analysis indicated that the anterior positivity was generated primarily in bilateral prefrontal cortices, whereas the more posterior negativity was generated in parietal and temporal cortices. The anterior ERP positivity likely reflects frontal-lobe attentional control, whereas the subsequent ERP negativity likely reflects anticipatory biasing of activity in auditory cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viola S Störmer
- Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
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